Bowling patriarch Jack Logan Sr., of Kalamazoo, was known to keep things competitive, but fun

KALAMAZOO, MI — Bowlers who came up against Donald "Jack" Logan may not

Jack Logan Sr.

have won the game, but chances are they had a good time.

"He was always pretty athletic, and he was just a very competitive guy," Jack Logan Jr. said of his father, the patriarch of a well-known Kalamazoo family of bowlers and a member of the Kalamazoo Men's Bowling Association Hall of Fame.

"He always had fun; he always had a good time," Jack Jr. said of his father. "He was fun to be around."

Jack Logan Sr., a resident of Kalamazoo, died Sunday at the age of 86. He had been in declining health, his son said.

Rod Sweetland, a longtime friend and bowling companion of Jack Logan Sr. who accompanied him to American Bowling Congress tournaments around the country for several years, agreed with Jack Jr.'s assessment.

"He was an exceptional bowler, and had a real will to win," Sweetland said. "We had a lot of fun (together). We always enjoyed each other's company."

Jack Logan Sr. began bowling in 1938 as a 12-year-old when he accompanied his father, Donald, to the lanes at the old YMCA in downtown Kalamazoo, he told a columnist for the Kalamazoo Gazette in 2003.

Logan said he averaged 180 to 190, which was considered exceptional during the 1930s, '40s and '50s. "An average of 200 was unthinkable then, but I made my spares," he told columnist Dave Hager.

Over the years, Logan won many tournaments and league championships.

"His dad was an avid bowler, and that's how I got into it also," said Jack Jr., who joined his father into the KMBA Hall of Fame in 1988. "He followed along with his dad and I followed along with my dad."

Logan Sr. not only followed his father's footsteps as a bowler, but also as a storekeeper.

"His dad opened a store (Logan's Market) on North Street when my dad was overseas during World War II," Jack Jr. said. "When he came back he worked with his dad."

Later, Jack Sr.'s mother opened Logan's Party Store on East Crosstown Parkway and Mills Street, and he worked there with her.

In 1960, he opened Jack's Food & Beverage on Riverview Drive north of Parchment City Hall. Twenty years later he moved to a new store that he built next door at 3021 Riverview. He sold the business to Jack Jr. in 1992, but continued working there until Jack Jr. sold it in 2003.

"We never had trouble with anybody; everybody liked him," Jack Jr. said. "He helped a lot of people. A lot of people he would extend credit to. He would run a slip on the wall for you, and he'd catch you tomorrow, or on payday on Friday."

When he was about 40, Jack Sr. took up golf, which he enjoyed as much as bowling. "He was a very unorthodox golfer," Jack Jr. said. "He putted Sam Snead style, feet close together, so he took a lot of ribbing for that."

But as with bowling, Logan was successful, with his crowning achievement occurring when he was 70 years old. That year he bowled a perfect 300 game and shot a hole-in-one on the golf course.

Logan's wife, Florence, who died in 1999, and their four children were all competitive bowlers.

Logan is survived by his children and their spouses, Karen and Richard VanDerSlik and Jack Logan and Jenny Argue, all of Pine Lake, and Kathy Logan and Jim Logan, of Kalamazoo; eight grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and a sister, Linda Petersen.

Visitation will be held from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Langeland Family Funeral Homes, Memorial Chapel, 622 S. Burdick St. A memorial service will be held there at 11 a.m. Friday.